Catalytic Pyrolysis of Cellulose Biomass to Aromatic Hydrocarbons Using Modified HZSM-5 Zeolite

Gallium-modified Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (ZSM-5) zeolites were synthesized using wetness impregnation and hydrothermal synthesis methods. The structural and acidic properties of the zeolites were characterized through an analytical instrument, which demonstrated that Gallium-modified HZSM-5 zeolites retain the Mobil five instructure (MFI) framework structure, but exhibit a reduction in Brønsted acid sites and a decrease in micropore size. The catalytic performance of these zeolites in the pyrolysis of cellulose biomass and polyethylene was tested. Compared with HZSM-5, Ga-modified HZSM-5 zeolites considerably increased monoaromatic yields while reducing alkanes production. In particular, gallium-impregnated HZSM-5 increased the monoaromatic yield from 37.6% for ZSM-5 to 43.2%, while hydrothermal synthesized Ga-HMFI reduced polyaromatic and alkane yields from 6.6% and 24.6% for HZSM-5 to 2.9% and 11.4%, respectively. These results indicated that Ga-modified HZSM-5 zeolites can improve the synergy between cellulose-derived oxygenates and polyethylene-derived olefins, enhancing the yield of petrochemical hydrocarbons compared to that predicted by theoretical calculations.